Remembrance is a ritual in Parliament, so what about Cy Peck?
PARLIAMENT HILL—Remembrance is a ritual in Parliament. Yet a former MP with an astonishing war record, British Columbian Cy Peck, is forgotten in the House in which he served. Peck remains the only sitting member of any Commonwealth Parliament ever to win the Victoria Cross. “Wow!” said New Democrat Nathan Cullen, MP for Skeena-Bulkley […]
Sun coverage needs no translation, speaks for itself
PARLIAMENT HILL—It was a rare spectacle: the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary secretary lauding a media personality for integrity, high character and valour—yes, courage. “Courage,” he actually used that word. Who would not blush? The Parliamentarian was Dean Del Mastro, MP from Peterborough and Can-Do Guy on the Commons’ Access to Information Committee. The media personality […]
Flaherty a world-class ‘financial broker’? Meh
OTTAWA—In the moment of descent into street rioting and bankruptcy, it is Europe’s fate to be lectured on prudence by Jim Flaherty, minister of finance. Foreigners must find this maddening. Flaherty, on the other hand, appears to be enjoying himself immensely. This is his Jimmy Cagney moment—top o’ the world, ma. Flaherty was in […]
Media conceal suicide, and it has done no good
Newsrooms rarely report suicides. Yet when the Commons recently engaged all-day debate on suicide prevention, speaker after speaker lamented Canadians’ reluctance to openly confront mental health issues. “We pretend it is not a problem,” said Liberal Leader Bob Rae. News coverage must be a factual depiction of community life. In reporting violent death—traffic casualties, […]
Strange case in Quebec: journalists debate if National Assembly should legislate professional status of journalists
It isn’t every day somebody volunteers for government regulation, but that is the strange case in Quebec where journalists are debating whether the National Assembly should legislate rules of the trade. The Ministry of Culture last week began reviewing submissions on its proposal to “adopt a professional status for journalists,” to be policed by […]
Internet? Parliament Hill is biggest paper mill in country, shipped by the truckload
Parliament Hill is the biggest paper mill in the country. They ship it by the truckload. When Ottawa discovered the internet 17 years ago they put it on paper, in a news release. “The government increasingly appears to be out of date,” the Treasury Board reported in 1994. It published a document, Blueprint for […]
Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television revising its regulations for 2012 awards
OTTAWA—Can you buy a Gemini? “I’d hope not—but there have been rumblings,” I was told by a juror at the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, sponsors of the award. “The fact is there are broadcasters who can outvote anybody.” “I don’t believe it is possible to buy a Gemini,” said Helga Stephenson, interim […]
Conservative MP Dechert stumbles
The knock-down 41st Parliament is back in session; only for a moment is there pause to reflect on the unhappy saga of “Love Bob” Dechert. He is the Mississauga MP made into a Punch and Judy figure over leaks of secret emails to a lady friend named Shi Rong. Dechert became a caricature: the […]
Harper picks his new PMO director of communications
Columnist Angelo Persichilli, late of The Hill Times, has complained there are too many French people in Parliament. Bilingualism is a waste of money, he added, and French translations are “annoying.” He wrote that French-speaking reporters may not be trustworthy and English ones are even worse: lazy, shallow “animals.” Persichilli last week started work […]
Former Senator Lavigne’s conviction ‘triumph’ for Canadian democracy
"Why me?" cried ex-senator Raymond Lavigne, sentenced to jail for fraud this summer; "I don't deserve this." Lavigne showed no remorse and uttered no apology. He scorned his tormentors. "They" had attacked him, he said, pained his family, "assassinated me in the media." The judge was coldly efficient. "No one is above the law," he […]
